She has been dubbed as “The Great Lady of Country Music.” This is Anderson’s first internationally distributed album in a decade and it will released on June 9 on Center Sound Records. It features collaborations with Country Music Hall of Famers The Oak Ridge Boys and The Martins. Anderson worked with Grammy-winning producer Bil VornDick on this project. Their previous partnership garnered them a Grammy nomination for her 2005 album Bluegrass Sessions. “I joined the church in New Mexico and got baptized, and I just felt like it was time for me to sing to the Lord. It is something that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. I needed to celebrate that baptism, so when Bil VornDick called me asking to do an album, I told him ‘absolutely’,” she said. “Working with The Oak Ridge Boys was great and wonderful. They have always been very supportive and very kind. They are such nice guys. They were absolutely perfect for the song.”
She praised her producer Bil VornDick for being “great.” “Bil is very musical and he is great at getting sound, and at mixing and vocal quality. He can make you sound good,” she said with a sweet laugh. “We had a fun couple of days finding some wonderful songs. We really hit the jackpot in finding great material for this project.”
Her song “My Guardian Angel” is the eighth track on this new album, and it was penned by none other than her late mother, the prolific country songwriter Liz Anderson. “I lost mother a few years ago, but I always like to include her music in every project,” she said. “My other half, my long-time boyfriend for 30 years, Mentor Williams, wrote ‘Drift Away.’ We wrote the gospel version for our church in New Mexico, so that’s where the idea came from. It has never been done as a gospel song before. We are hoping that the song will become a standard, especially since it has been done by everybody.”
In Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road’s new album, Country Grass, Anderson duets with Jordan on “Rose Garden.” “Lorraine called me and asked me if I could sing with her, and I said ‘sure.’ I have sung it with several people actually, and it has been fun,” she said.
Throughout her illustrious career in the music industry, Anderson has been recognized by Billboard as its “Artist of the Decade” for 1970-1980; moreover, she was the first female country artist to headline and sell out New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1974. “Yeah, I rode a horse down Broadway and posed in front of the marquee. I was the first country artist to do that. Before Big & Rich rode a horse that crossed a bridge, I did that a long time ago,” she said with a sweet laugh.
Her signature single, “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” won her a Grammy award for “Best Female Country Vocal Performance” and it topped the Billboard Hot Country charts for five weeks. Thanks to its commercial success, it earned her the title “Top Grossing Country Song by a Female Artist” for more than 27 years (until Shania Twain), which resulted in Anderson selling over 30 million albums worldwide. 12 of her radio singles went No. 1 on the charts, and 18 of her singles landed in the Top 10. Finally, three of her albums went No. 1 and she has secured 15 albums in the Top 20 on the Billboard charts. “Shania Twain finally knocked me out, but I have had a good run with ‘Rose Garden.’ It’s the gift that keeps on giving. It is such an iconic song and I have been really blessed,” she said.
This Sunday, Anderson will be performing her new song “Drift Away” at the Grand Ole Opry House, where she will be backed by a chorus that is comprised of 50 people. “There will be 50 voices, so that will be fun,” she said.
Fans can pre-order Lynn Anderson’s collection on iTunes, by clicking here.
For more information on country queen Lynn Anderson and her new Bridges CD, check out her official website.
